This event has been cancelled.
Engin Isin is professor emeritus at Queen Mary University, London. He is one of the most influential scholars in the global discussion on citizenship and human rights.
Traditionally, to be a citizen means to have a passport, voting in parliamentary elections and to claim rights from public services. Professor Isin has claimed for many years that having a passport cannot be the ultimate sign of being a citizen. It is more decisive to join movements and struggle for own rights, despite the legal status. Participation in smaller and bigger activities to claim rights has the deepest value.
The last decade Engin Isin has expanded this theory into the area of climate and nature. The only way to save climate and nature is to give them a much stronger status and value. Climate and nature should be seen as «citizens». Non-human nature is also entitled to rights, in the same way as people without passport are entitled to rights.
The panel opens with a 15-minute introduction from Engin Isin, followed by comments from Sjursæther and Furehaug. After a dialogue between the three, there will also be an opportunity for contributions from the audience. The panel is moderated by Trygve Wyller, professor emeritus at the Faculty of Theology.
Topics for the panel discussion will be:
- What does it mean to be a “planetary citizen”?
- How can everyday acts of climate citizenship sustain hope in a political context where activities often hostile to climate prevail?
- What is the role of religions in hope and action?
- What is the connection between injustice, pain and climate?
The event is open for both academic and non academic audiences interested in justice, civic engagement, and planetary futures.
There will be light refreshments served from 17:00–17:15. The program starts at 17:15.
More information about the panelists
Engin Isin's research and teaching focus on the ways in which people make themselves agents of international politics through acts, movements, and struggles.
Isin was a professor of social science (1996–2002) and Canada Research Chair (2002–2006) at York University, and a professor of politics at The Open University (2007–2016) before joining Queen Mary University, London in 2017
Two important books are Acts of Citizenship (with Greg Nielsen) from 2008 (Zed Books) and “Performative citizenship” in The Oxford Handbook of Citizenship from 2017.
You can read more about Isin’s work on Queen Mary University of London website and on Isin’s personal website.
Frøya Sjursæther is a Norwegian politician who made history in 2025 by becoming the youngest-ever member of the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget). She represents the Green Party (MDG). Her entry into national politics has drawn significant attention due to her record-breaking age, marking a notable shift in the demographic representation within the Norwegian parliament. She continues to serve as an active member of the Parliament, focusing on the legislative priorities of her party.
Marita L. Furehaug is a PhD Fellow at the Faculty of Theology, University of Oslo. She holds an MA in Religion and Society and a BA in Arabic and Middle Eastern studies. Her PhD research is within the field of Religion and Ecology, especially Islam and Ecology and Muslim Environmentalism within the Egyptian context.
Trygve Wyller is a professor emeritus in the studies of diaconia at the Faculty of Theology, University of Oslo. He has published on migration studies, phenomenology and contemporary theology. Wyller served as dean of the faculty for 8 years (2007–2015).